Dignité-Al Karama Shores up Human Dignity, Al Mezan Condemns Israeli Naval Seizure of the Dignity and Calls on International Community to Uphold Its Obligations and End Gaza Siege

In the early morning hours of Tuesday 19 July 2011, Israeli navy vessels surrounded the French ship Dignité-Al Karama (French and Arabic for “Dignity”) while it was on its way to the coast of the Gaza Strip.
According to French sources, the ship was about 40 nautical miles off the Gaza shore when the IOF intercepted it.
According to Israeli sources, the ship was about 50 nautical miles offshore.
At approximately 9:30 a.
m.
on Tuesday 19 June 2011, three Israeli navy vessels surrounded the ship, cut off its communications, and led it into Ashdod harbor in Israel.
The Israeli navy vessels surrounded the ship while it was in international waters, where all states enjoy high seas rights to navigation.
  According to media sources, about 17 internationals; including solidarity activists and three journalists—two of whom work for Al Jazeera; the other is Israeli journalist Amira Hass—were onboard the ship.
The solidarity activists seek through the ship’s voyage to spotlight and break the Israeli siege imposed on the Gaza Strip in violation of international human rights law and international humanitarian law .
The Dignité-Al Karama was one of ten ships that were supposed to sail to the Gaza Strip, but the Greek authorities prevented the other nine ships from leaving its harbors.
  The Al Mezan Center for Human Rights highly appreciates the relentless efforts made by human rights and international solidarity activists to challenge the Israeli siege imposed on the Gaza Strip and to expose the gross violations of human rights, foremost among them the siege, committed against the population of the Gaza Strip.
These efforts attest to the failure of the international community to uphold its legal obligations.
Breaking and ending the siege is a legal obligation of the international community, particularly the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Given the silence of the international community and its failure to uphold its legal and moral obligations towards the population of the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt), individual and group movements are of great importance.
  Al Mezan strongly condemns this new Israeli violation, which demonstrates how Israel disregards its legal obligations and its contempt for the international community and international conventions.
Al Mezan reasserts that Israeli conduct towards the Dignité-Al Karamais in sharp contradiction with previous Israeli claims.
Israel has alleged that it is not responsible for the human rights situation in the Gaza Strip, as (according to the Israeli argument) it is not an occupied territory.
At the same time, Israel’s daily behavior proves the opposite—that Israel has full and effective control of the Gaza Strip and its airspace and maritime domain.
Israel is therefore obliged to respect IHL and human rights principles in its dealing with the population of the Gaza Strip.
  Al Mezan also reiterates the illegality of Israel’s collective punishment of the Gaza Strip’s population.
Breaking and ending the siege is a legal obligation on the international community.
There is also a moral obligation on every state, institution, and person who can contribute towards ending the siege of Gaza and the suffering of its people.
International popular activity must be viewed in this context, particularly because of the international community’s inaction and failure to implement its legal obligations towards Palestinian civilians in the oPt.
  Al Mezan also decries the failure of the international community to take effective measures to ensure the safety of civilian international solidarity activists who were on their way to the Gaza Strip.
It calls on the international community to investigate Israel’s present and previous similar conduct and to bring those who ordered or committed violations to justice.
  End